After a long period of over 30 years away from the hobby, I am in the middle of sort of scratch build of the old Aerokits Sea Commander. I was able to find a copy of the full-sized sheet, and am using that as the guide for cutting the frames etc. My plan is complete this with 2-channel R/C and once I have convinced myself that I can still do this stuff right, build a larger scale model of the 28’ 1969 Chris Craft Cavalier that we had in California for many years.Just like to say that I have been very impressed by the service, and quality of the wood from SLEC; highly recommend them.

Hi and welcome to the forum. Yup, SLEC are good guys. They're within a pleasant car toodle from me. I have a set of Crash Tender fittings from them since they bought out the Vintage Model Boat Company.Sea Commander is a lovely boat and all the Aerokits are good performers. I have several.

Good to see another Chris-Craft builder on here. The world needs more woody fans!

When i'm back on my feet I intend building another Speranza. (was that a Veron kit?) I can get the plans from Model Dockyard and Cornwall Boats etc but does anyone know if the kit is available somewhere? I have all the tools needed to cut frames etc but want to do it quickly. Awaiting reply from SLEC👍

Hello. I have a soft spot for Sea Commander, I built one somewhere around 1964/5 when I was 13 with the help of my brother in law. I enjoyed the build and painting and buying fittings with my pocket money. I remember the long drying time of Cascamite wood glue! I think I had Frog petrol engine and Macgregor radio, all purchased from Roland Scot. After a couple of years I sold the boat and bought a new Moulton bicicle. I wish I still had both now

Thanks, Brianaro, as a youngster I could never afford a kit the size of the Commander; the Sea Urchin was the best I could do!I bought the plans for this model from a chap on eBay for £12.50. The full-sized single sheet is fine, but the tracings are almost worthless, so I drew my own.....

It's a disgrace how bad some plans are from the suppliers. I bought an aircraft drawing to make a De Havilland Hornet Moth. It was about 15 quid...more than enough and was so appalling when I got it back that I had to redraw large parts of it. Arguments about accuracy are one thing, but when the side view and plan of the wing is different it's time to cry "foul". I paid what I thought was an appalling amount for Harold Underhill drawings of a Scottish Zulu fishing boat, but at least they were very detailed and accurate. Mind you for that price they damned well should have been!And don't even get me started on the plans drawn by Gary Griswold of runabouts and mahogany hotrods. I made the one called, (wrongly) Excaliber. It would not support a sigle fair batten through any of its frame's notches, so I added little bits of wood and took some out with a cutting disc until they fitted. Then I realised it was twisted, so had to add a strong diagonal brace while I corrected all the notches. Fortunately, after they were all corrected the brace came out and finally I was able to add skins. I figured it looked like a Greavette racer, so have built it like that. But no thanks to the lousy drawings.

Dampfgerd sorry no pics Too long ago aged 15 in '58 No camera then.👍 Vic Smeed ? could have been but thought it was a Veron kit which would likely as not have been Phil Smith.P.S. try Googling for the Speranza model boat John

Best thing I ever did was deal with SLEC as an aeromodeller. I have a fuselage building Jig that I am using to build a new Sea Queen. The idea is to ensure no twist on a 46" hull. Just making the blocks to allow for the Skeg will post pictures soon😊😊

Thank you Onetenor Looks like nobody have that beautiful boat build, not in Facebook Groups, not in RC groups , other forums and nothing on Google.The real Speranza was a Renato "Sunny"Levi design, he was know for his fast deep vee hulls, Levi help by the Vic Smeed Scale plan. She is a very fast Boat and i build with 2 brushless

SLEC do have a good reputation and its great that the classic kits of old are back in production.

The Sea Commander is one of my favourites as I restored one many years ago but foolishly sold it to fund my karting activities four years later.

However in 2011 I found another one and restored that. This one I am keeping along with the 34 inch Crash Tender of 1962 vintage that I restored in 2014 being one that the former ownerwas about to place in a skip.

I am interested in a Sea Rover as its a boat I never had. In the early 1960s when we lived in Liverpool, dad would take us up to Fleetwood to see the Aerokits display and watch the steering event on the big lake.

Dave,that makes your Crash Tender the same age as mine! I also have a Sea Urchin that's 58 years old. My son has a Sea Rover that was mine. I might have to get that back off him as he'll never do it. It has a nasty twist, but that's how it came. I'm sure I can get rid of that with some suitable bracing. Its great bringing these old birds back to life.

Guys The Jig is finished for Sea Queen, I have designed it in such a way that the 46" RAF Crash Tender that I have as kit from VMAW will use the same jig.. Will be fitting to MFA 850's on this as the original had two props. Built one of these many years ago fitted with a Taplin Twin sold it when I moved to South Africa.Not allowed to run IC Boats at the 2 clubs I belong toMy wife must never know how much my hobby costs

If you don't make mistakes then you don't make anything, good luck with the commander. I'm doing a commander refurb on my dad's old one from the 50's. RNMUNICH is doing the motor for me it's an old taycol supermarine. I'll be doing a full right up after Xmas.Happy modelling, cheers Colin.

I would appreciate some input as to the type of battery. My inclination is to go for a lead-acid, as I would like the additional weight. I feel that most models look too light on the water.The motor is a mtroniks 660 with a Viper Marine 25A ESC.Any advice would be appreciated!

'Right On' Colin 👍😁My first Boss (part owner of a small sub-contract outfit I worked for during my Sandwich Course days) used to say "If you've never made a mistake you've never made F... All"! 😲He was a bit of a rough diamond but a great first Guvner!

I also tend to use Sla batteries a model this size should easily be able to take a 12v 7ah battery, some of my models I have to use 2 batteries, 1for ballast or in parallel to give longer running time. The 660 motor should be fine, what size prop are you going to use.Cheers Colin.

Hi DG,Hmmm! They can always make a donation to our site and read my refurb blog😁 Anyway, I'm not sure they'd like what I'm doing with Colin's motor.😲They tend to be 'Patina purists'! 🤓Pics show where we're at, output end is done, brush gear end is a bit trickier! Details in a blog update shortly. Cheers, Doug 😎PS This is my second 'Taycol Tale' 😉 Last year I renovated my Target and converted it to run off a modern ESC, forrads and backuds as Martin would say😁, for use in my fish cutter. Which might get finished around 2025🤔

Attached Files - Click To View Large

Young at heart - slightly older in other places 😉 Cheers Doug Grant me the Serenity to accept things I can't change, - the Courage to change things that I can, and the Wisdom to know the difference!

"........Hi DG,Hmmm! They can always make a donation to our site and read my refurb blog😁 Anyway, I'm not sure they'd like what I'm doing with Colin's motor.😲They tend to be 'Patina purists'! 🤓......."

Oh, I'm sure that they'd be only too happy to encourage any interest in the Taycols - original or modified. But I fear that they would have problems making a donation - they are strictly providers of free information, use only open source software and won't even run adverts on their site to defray their expenses...

Now now children let's not start another war by hijacking another thread. Taycol is a superb motor whether refurbished to modern standards or totally original, so please let's not waste any time arguing.Cheers Colin.

Greetings from Australia,Hi mate, Model boat building is the most rewarding hobby.Great for us oldies to while away the hours in retirement. I have been boat building for 30 years and cant give it up. Enjoy your hobby and be proud of what you build. You get better as you progress.RegardsSid